Sint Maarten Travel Forum

My girlfriend and I are planning a 5-day trip to St Maarten this May but we can't seem to agree on which side of the island to stay on....

I say the Dutch side is better since it seems that's where most of the casinos and clubs are located. Plus there's cheap shopping there for her to do...

She thinks the French side is better since the beaches are nicer, it's less crowded and there's better shopping to be done there...

I was looking into staying at the Maho Beach Resort since it has a casino, nightclub and an all-inclusive plan. I'm not sure where my gf wants to stay (most likely near Orient Beach)....

Which side has the better restaurants, the better casinos and the kickin' nightclubs? I'm sure we'll be seeing both sides of the island during our stay. I just want to have a place to stay that's near all the things we want to enjoy... especially at night?

Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated....

Ah the great debate. The food is great on both sides of the island. The jewellry shopping is better on the Dutch side, but for clothing Marigot is better. The casinos are on the Dutch side. Also, I found it to be more affordable to purchase groceries on the Dutch side. The French side has a more European feel to it and the Dutch side more American. It is really difficult to choose. How will you be getting around? If you must take taxi's home from the casino at night, that can get expensive. I personaly dislike that the big places on the Dutch side like Aquamarina, Royal Islander, Maho Beach Resort, etc are all owned by an Italian tycon who has, allegedly, ties to mafia, and other horrible stuff to do with Bin Laden. Yeah I could not beleive when I read about that. Makes for an interesting story to go along with the trip. Also, the maho area has many abandoned and dilapidated buildings/homes around the golf course near Mullet bay. It's nice to be away from all of that.

Here is the link to a newspaper article http://thedailyherald.com/news/daily/i01/spada01.html

Both sides are different but both are very nice.

If you want to stay at Maho Beach Resort .....the best thing to do is just rent a car for 5 days and drive around !! The island is small so you can easily visit the morning market on the French side in the morning, and drive to a beach you want and go shopping etc later the day on the Dutch side. Its easy to drive and the island is small so with a car you can do lots everyday on both sides.

The abandoned buildings near Maho Beach resort are remains from the big hurricane a few years ago. But the Maho Beach Resort area is a very nice and lively area to stay. Mullet Bay is one of my favourite beaches. But then again with a car.....the whole island is to your disposal. (To give you an idea....you can drive around the island in 2 hours without stopping....so now you now how small it is). Have a great time on St. Maarten and enjoy its a very nice island and its called The Friendly Island (as also said on the carplates) and it sure is.. !!